


White Knight

by hopeassassin



Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Ambiguous Relationships, F/M, Fluff, Gen, General, Non-Graphic Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-14
Updated: 2014-02-14
Packaged: 2018-01-12 08:37:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,236
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1184168
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hopeassassin/pseuds/hopeassassin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>She tells everyone who can be arsed to listen that she’s constantly taking care of him and looking after him. The truth is that she’s just a great of a handful to be babysat herself.</p>
            </blockquote>





	White Knight

**Author's Note:**

  * For [entityofhope](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=entityofhope).



> I promised entityofhope at tumblr that I would write her a story. Then I started working on it, and it got out of hand. ~~Big surprise there.~~
> 
> So until I can finish that one, I suggested I give her something else, and this is the scenario she had in mind. So here it is! I hope you enjoy.

Satsuki huffed moodily to herself.

 

When she had suggested to her mother that she help in the kitchen, what she had meant was with the _actual cooking_ , not with playing errand girl for her parent.

 

She tapped the tip of her shoe against the floor, setting it comfortably in place as she fetched her keys from the shoebox by the door.

 

How was she supposed to get any better (or, more accurately said, less of a _disaster_ ) in the kitchen if no one taught her how things were done?

 

How was she supposed to get better if no one allowed her to practice?!

 

Was she expected to get some kind of epiphany or something?! Seriously, her family sometimes…!

 

And none of this would really be a big deal if not for Dai-chan’s retarded _reactions_ every time Satsuki and a kitchen were spoken of in the same sentence.

 

The way he blanched, his _grimaces_ were so degrading, she could just about punch him in the face for it. He made her so mad.

 

Well, excuse _her_ for being simply human, therefore incapable of being a natural at _everything_.

 

As if he was one to make such judgements, though! The only thing he had talent for in his life so far was basketball, because she was quite certain ‘slacking’ wasn’t something that could ever count as a talent!

 

And yet he had the _gall_ to criticise her cooking skills!

 

_Ass_.

 

“Are you going now?” her mother asked, drawing her out of her trance.

 

“That’s what you told me to do, isn’t it?” Satsuki deadpanned, snagging her jacket from the hanger.

 

The younger Momoi woman was shrugging her jacket on as her mother shifted her weight to her other foot in discomfort.

 

“Well, yes, but it _is_ pretty dark out and late already. Why don’t you take Dai-chan with you?”

 

The suggestion, in light of Satsuki’s previous train of thought, made the pink-haired girl’s blood boil. Her brows knitted over her eyes as a warning sign of her rising temper.

 

“I’ll be _fine_ , mother. I don’t need to be babysat.” She huffed, swinging the door open with more force and abruptness than absolutely necessary. “Least of all by that loafer!” she added prissily as an after-thought.

 

Her mother’s brows wrinkled with worry as she watched her daughter’s disappearing back from the threshold of their home.

 

“But, dear, just to be safe—”

 

“I _will_ be safe, mom. Stop fretting! You get back to your cooking and leave worrying about errands to me, all right?”

 

She purposely didn’t give her matron a chance to respond by walking on quickly. She’d heard enough out of the woman already.

 

Not to mention that her thoughts of Dai-chan earlier had set her in something of a foul mood, so she really preferred to be left alone for a while to rein her emotions in.

 

She was just on the right track to achieving inner peace again when it was brought to her attention by the clerk at their local store that the ingredients she had been sent to buy weren’t to be found in the convenience store in their hood.

 

Satsuki sighed deeply in defeat. This was the only place closest to her house she could think of that was still open this late. Not finding what she needed here meant she’d have to take a long walk to the supermarket in the adjoining neighbourhood.

 

She called her mother from her cell phone, asking her just to make sure what she should get in case she couldn’t find the designated ingredients.

 

She made this call while taking the long walk towards the big supermarket.

 

The long, solitary trip gave Satsuki the time and premise to truly cool off.

 

Her mom had suggested that she get Dai-chan for a bodyguard, but the pink-haired adolescent honestly doubted the guy was even available for the task.

 

It was already late autumn, and even though the sun set early, the courts he played basketball at against Tetsu-kun and Kagamin every other day were perfectly equipped to accommodate for some night play, too. Satsuki was more than convinced that despite the slightly late hour, she wouldn’t have found Dai-chan at home, nor would she have had a hold on him on his phone.

 

He had a tendency to get hopelessly carried away when he played basketball, and so did Kagamin.

 

On the days when they played only the two of them, they only realized how late it got after she phoned Tetsu-kun to complain to him about Dai-chan’s mom being worried sick. Tetsu then called Kagami, because out of the two idiots, Kagamin was more reliable for keeping a better eye and hold on his phone than the Touou ace.

 

So, bottom line was this: she didn’t to be babysat, and second, even if there was any need for it, if she was supposed to wait until her _escort_ was available, all the supermarkets would be long closed…

 

Just as she was nearing her goal, the bright lights of the convenience store bathing her form in their scant illumination, Satsuki’s phone buzzed in her pocket.

 

She only absently noted the group of people gathered just out of the halo of light casted by the streetlamps and the convenience store building’s lights.

 

Satsuki fished the phone out of her pocket, curious who could be thinking of her this late.

 

She laughed to herself when she saw the text message from none other than her mother, telling her she really should be heading home because her parent had a bad premonition about this all.

 

Sometimes, her mother could rival Midorin with the depth of her superstition. And, besides, hadn’t it been _her_ who sent her shopping to begin with? Yet suddenly she had a bad premonition about it?

 

‘Mother, _please_ ,’ the pink-haired girl thought to herself with light exasperation (and just a touch of endearment) while she texted her mother—for what felt like the thousandth time—that she was fine and almost done anyway, so there was no need to go crazy.

 

She was so immersed in her thoughts and typing away at her phone that she was completely oblivious to the pack of delinquent-looking punks who were starting to surround her in a wide circle that they slowly tightened around her, like a noose around the neck.

 

Satsuki was just pressing the button ‘send’ when a large shadow loomed over her.

 

She realized the depth and severity of her mistake in writing her reply to her mother _outside_ the boundaries of the security camera protected and bathed in light building of the supermarket only when she ended up surrounded on all sides by mean-looking ill-intentioned mugs of unfamiliar men.

 

She swallowed dryly as her eyes scanned the thugs’ faces, calculating her odds of getting out of this unscathed.

 

The results she came up with were looking rather grim. Even before those boys adopted their lunatic grins.

 

“What’s a pretty girl like you doing out so late at night, honey?”

 

Satsuki suppressed her urge to face fault at the overly familiar address. She did _not_ need to complicate this any further for herself.

 

“Oh, well, just a little dinner shopping.” She tried to make her tone light and to keep it even, perfectly levelled. Letting them know how intimidated she felt was the worst possible thing she could do.

 

However, her choice of words still seemed to be rather poor. They grinned even wider at her statement and the circle they had made around her closed a little further.

 

“If it’s dinner you want to have, we’d love to treat you to some.”

 

A chorus of murmured agreement came from the group around her. Satsuki felt the dread settle in her gut as she tried to step away from them.

 

It was to no avail. They allowed her zero room to manoeuvre. 

 

“Oh, I couldn’t. My family is waiting for me and I really shouldn’t be long…”

 

She attempted to sidestep their leader, but he grabbed her wrist, holding her tightly before she could duck towards the supermarket.

 

Satsuki had done a good job at schooling her features into neutrality so far. But when the jackass dared to put his grubby paw on her, she lost control of herself.

 

“Let go,” she ordered, trying to wrench her wrist free of the guy’s hold as she did so. Her face scrunched up in distaste when he pulled her closer.

 

“Oh, a feisty one!” he exulted, earning him another round of appreciative cheers from the guys around them. “This is getting better and better. We really can’t accept ‘no’ as an answer now, miss.”

 

Their infernal cackling made her blood curdle in her veins. Fear gripped her heart and made her attempts at wringing her wrist free more urgent.

 

The effort was spent in vain. That bastard’s grip wouldn’t give an inch.

 

“Well, that’s really too bad, because I have no other answer to give you,” she spat, her words several times more courageous than she actually felt.

 

She could practically _feel_ them all huddling closer to her.

 

The horror set into her bones, into her very soul, when their leader invaded her personal space in one fell swoop, pulling her up against him. His unsightly face took up her entire field of vision, allowing the terror to seize a firm grip on her mind as well.

 

She could tell they were saying things, laughing cruelly at her predicament but she couldn’t hear, couldn’t make sense of the words. She couldn’t hear anything over the deafening noise in her ears, the merciless ringing in them blurring out the rest of the world.

 

Satsuki had fainted only once or twice in her entire life but she distinctly remembered that when she had, the ringing in her ears had been just as bad. It made her wonder if fainting _now_ would be a deliverance or it would worsen the situation to disastrous proportions.

 

There was no deity in particular that Satsuki could care to pray to. No saviour, no messiah, no god.

 

All she _could_ do was curse her idiocy, her lapse of judgement.

 

And yet, there was one name and face that _did_ cross her mind in that very moment of complete despair.

 

Someone her mom had insisted she bring with her.

 

Someone who could be really handy in a mess like the one she’d brought upon herself.

 

Someone who’d made her feel beside herself with petty anger earlier, yet someone thoughts of whom now made her soul a little less horror-ridden all the same.

 

A large arm draped over the gang leader’s shoulder nonchalantly, seeming almost incorporeal as it reached out of the shadows around the group of people.

 

The thug stiffened, still as stone, not having felt anyone approaching him not to mention come as close as arm’s reach of him.

 

When the offender emerged completely from the shadows, it was because he leaned his entire upper half heavily onto the shoulder of the gang leader, pulling him back into a gesture of an overly-familiar embrace with an impressive force.

 

The thug’s eyes dilated when he didn’t recognize at all the face that hovered uncomfortably close to his. He swallowed dryly around the lump that had formed in his throat at the realization that the guy was stooping down _considerably_ to be able to be on the same eye level as him.

 

But worst of all was the look on his face. The newcomer was wearing an easy grin, almost deceptively realistic, but his eyes—his sharp, azure eyes were anything but smiling or warm.

 

His gaze was sharp, full of warning and borderline murderous with the amount of killing intent in his aura.

 

“Aw, c’mon, guys,” he started, his tone light, cajoling. He spoke as if he was talking to friends.

 

Hearing the gruff, familiar tone made Satsuki’s eyes snap up to look at him.

 

And, surely enough, there was Dai-chan, smiling while leaning against her captor, arm around his neck in an overly familiar gesture that seemed to put the guy on edge.

 

“The girl says no because she already has other plans. So play nice and let her run along, huh?”

 

Dai-chan.

 

Dai-chan had really come.

 

His presence made the colour return to her face—which had been pale as a sheet. His proximity dispelled the horror from her being, instilling her with a sense that everything would be all right now.

 

“Who the hell are you?!” It was one of the more thick-skinned guys a bit further away from Daiki who snapped.

 

He seemed to realize it was a mistake when Daiki’s fake dulcet grin and his pointed glare were now directly aimed at the poor bastard.

 

“Oh, me? I’m nobody, mate.” His left arm left the shoulder of the gang leader, and he was next to the new offender in no time. He slinked his right arm around this guy’s shoulder now, pulling him in a vice-like embrace. “Just your friendly neighbourhood pacifist, here to remind you that you ought to respect girls’ wishes, or it will get you hated by them.”

 

“Is this guy for real?” another goon thought to speak up.

 

It garnered Daiki’s glare instantaneously.

 

The fabricated saccharine smile melted off his face so quickly it sent shivers down the spines of his audience.

 

“I’ll say this once.” He paused briefly, making sure he had all their short-spanned attentions. “Let go of her, and _scram_ ,” he hissed out, his voice full of promise of pain if they failed to meet his demand.

 

It made the leader realize for the first time that his hand was still holding Satsuki’s wrist. He let go of her so fast that her skin may as well have scorched him.

 

His friends didn’t seem so quick on the uptake, however, because their faces got painted in open hostility towards the newcomer.

 

“Don’t stick your nose where it doesn’t belong, smart guy,” a burlier one started in threatening undertones. “You just might end up in a world of pain you didn’t sign up for.”

 

Daiki’s eyes flashed dangerously, an almost manic glint crossing them, as he settled his gaze upon the big guy and his bigger words.

 

“Didn’t you hear me? I told you, you should scram,” he said languidly, as though he were lecturing especially thick people.

 

His arm let go of the previous guy, his hand finding its way inside his jacket pocket as he took slow strides to the guy who had challenged him.

 

Daiki’s cobalt gaze was severe and unyielding as he held the guy’s eyes. His challenger started breaking out in cold sweat from the sheer intensity of the Touou ace’s eyes, but he seemed to be too stupid to know when a good time to give up was.

 

Daiki heaved a deep sigh, his shoulders slumping even further.

 

“I see. So you didn’t get the generosity of my offer. That’s too bad. Really, too bad.”

 

His tone was so genuinely morose, so crestfallen that it caught the thugs off-guard.

 

It sent the guy reeling even before Daiki seized him in a steadfast grip by the shoulders. The Touou ace forced his challenger to bend down a little as he kneed him with all his impressive might in the gut.

 

The thoughtless guy made a choked sound, his eyes so wide they were basically popping out of their sockets. He collapsed to his knees heavily, clutching at his stomach.

 

A few of his friends gasped but most of them simply stared in staggered horror at Daiki.

 

The dark-skinned boy raised himself to his usual lazy slouch, eyeing the faces of the boys around him with cold calculation.

 

“What the hell are you doing?!” another one shouted, outraged. He seemed scandalized that there would be anyone who could so openly oppose their gang.

 

Especially when he was just one guy with a screw loose against _all of them_.

 

Was he _mad_?

 

Daiki’s narrowed gaze snapped to him, brows furrowing further. He reached a hand out, making the boy flinch and edge away from the touch.

 

His reaction made a little complacent smirk tug on the assaulter’s face. Daiki didn’t let the guy’s reluctance faze him, putting an almost reassuring hand on his shoulder. He stayed like this until some of the tension left the dude’s frame and face.

 

Only to pull him forward by the back of his neck, head-butting him with his forehead in the nose. The force he put into the movement effectively broke the gang member’s nose.

 

There were several strangled sounds from his audience, as Daiki righted his pose again.

 

“Anyone else got something to add?” he queried, casting a look over them all.

 

This time, the idiots had the decency to shake their heads quickly.

 

Daiki clicked his tongue, fixing his pose so that he was no longer slouching. Thus, he effectively towered over all of them, looking down at them with his chin lifted high.

 

“ _Good_. Get your asses out of my sight while you can still stand on your own two feet.”

 

The glower he sent them was so intense it made them scramble as they scattered like roaches. That was how big of a rush they were in to do his bidding.

 

Satsuki stared vacantly after them for a while, having lost touch with the reality of the situation since some minutes ago. She only realized that she was still there, and she was still expected to function as a normal human being when she felt Daiki’s gaze on her.

 

She shook her head to rid it of all the nonsensical thoughts it was crawling with, returning Dai-chan’s expectant and reprimanding look with a level one of her own.

 

She pouted, crossing her arms over her chest.

 

“W-what are you doing here?” she asked at long last. The effect of her line was somewhat diminished by her stutter.

 

Daiki didn’t seem convinced to begin with, but when he heard her speak the disapproval in his eyes deepened. He sighed deeply in exasperation, shoving his hands in his jacket pockets, letting his shoulders slump in defeat.

 

“Babysitting,” he told her simply, and a vein pulsed into visibility on Satsuki’s temple. He thought on it for a moment, appearing unusually pensive. “Although it’s more like cargo retrieving.”

 

A muscle in the corner of Satsuki’s eye twitched.

 

“So now I’m not even human, but just some luggage to be dragged around?”

 

He had the audacity to look engrossed in thought at her wording.

 

“You could say that.”

 

She scowled at him, punching him in the elbow none too lightly as punishment.

 

He didn’t even flinch, and that irked her further.

 

“Well, as _thoughtful_ of you as it was,” she said, betrayed exactly how much she didn’t think so, “your intermission was unneeded. I had the situation entirely under control,” she explained, her tone taut.

 

At this, Daiki did appear somewhat fazed.

 

“Oh, really now?”

 

“Yes, really.”

 

“You had the situation handled?” he reiterated, as though making certain.

 

“I did, actually.”

 

“So that was the kind of face you make when you have a situation handled.” He made a pensive hum in the back of his throat. “I see. Excellent reference for the future.”

 

His comment made her flush with indignation. She whipped her head to the side, avoiding looking him in the eye.

 

The evil expression he had graced those goons with had been gone the moment he turned to look at her instead, but suddenly his placid, languid expression was too much for her to handle as well.

 

She smacked him again, but this time it was obvious her heart was not in it.

 

Daiki smiled at her antics while she was engrossed with a pebble next to her shoe.

 

“Can we just get going home now? I’m tired, I’m sore all over and I’m starving,” he complained with an indecently wide yawn.

 

Satsuki threw him an amused look, shaking her head at his griping. Only someone like Dai-chan could go from largely intimidating to boneless in his laziness to even exist.

 

She was just about to agree to his suggestion when she realized that she hadn’t met the goal she had set out to this place to achieve.

 

“Wait for me here for a bit. I still haven’t bought the stuff for dinner mom sent me here for.”

 

The glare of disbelief he bestowed upon her almost made her feel stupid.

 

Almost.

 

“Are you being serious right now?” he snapped, his exasperation taking over him.

 

“Just wait for me here – I won’t take long!” she promised over her shoulder, dashing towards the supermarket. She completely ignored the way he rolled his eyes as she made her way towards the store.

 

True to her word, not even five minutes later, she was bustling out again, grocery bag in hand.

 

She was welcomed by the deadpan expression on Dai-chan’s face, who stared her down as though she had done something worthy of his blame.

 

“Are you done now?” he inquired tersely, his brows furrowed.

 

“Yep, I’m good,” she said with a cheery smile. Her good-natured response made him heave a long sigh as he let go of his aggravation.

 

“Let’s go home, then. I’m going to die from starvation here.”

 

She peered at his outstretched hand curiously. He opened and closed it a few times, expectant—of what, she had no clue.

 

“What’s this hand for?” she asked him at last, just as she was about to sidestep him and start off towards their houses.

 

“The grocery bag,” he explained, as though it should be enough of a clue. She tilted her head to the side in confusion. It wasn’t enough in way of elaboration, it seemed. Daiki sighed again. “Give it to me, I’ll carry it.”

 

“Oh,” Satsuki said in surprise, giving a look to the bag in her head. She fished something out of it and then handed it over to him with a self-conscious “Thank you.”

 

They walked off, beginning the long trek towards their houses, with Satsuki wrestling with something at his side. Just as he was about to ask her what she was even doing, her hand stretched out to him, a popsicle in her grasp.

 

“Here, for you.” She smiled coyly at him, waiting for him to take the offering. He did, tentatively so. “My thanks for saving me earlier.”

 

He chuckled, taking the popsicle with his free hand. He couldn’t help appreciating the fact she had taken it out of its plastic which made it possible for him to eat with one hand.

 

“And here I thought you didn’t need any saving, because you had the situation totally under control,” he flung her earlier words back at her. She sent him a lopsided smile, elbowing him in the ribs.

 

“Don’t push your luck now, Dai-chan. I can take as easily as I can give!” she threatened half-heartedly, making him laugh.

 

“As if I’ll give you a chance to take it back,” he said, laughter bubbling in his tone as he sank his teeth into the popsicle. A shiver ran down his spine when the icy treat chilled him to the bone.

 

“Slow down, I was just kidding, jeez,” she said in mock exasperation, taking out her own popsicle.

 

They walked on in comfortable silence as she worked her way slowly through her dessert after he was done with his own.

 

“How did you find me, anyway?” she thought to ask, suddenly realizing that there was no way this kind of coincidence would happen naturally.

 

“Your mom called me all worried. Said you were taking too long and she had a bad feeling. She insisted that I go find you.”

 

Satsuki made a thoughtful sound.

 

“And you did just because of that?”

 

“Yeah,” was his short, concise response. The pink-haired girl made another pensive sound.

 

“How unexpected.”

 

“Your mom’s gut feeling is really good, especially when it comes to you getting yourself in trouble,” he told her cheekily, throwing her an impish look out of the corner of his eye.

 

She met his look with disbelief.

 

“Oh, please! I _never_ get myself in trouble—”

 

“Yeah, I wonder why that is, huh?”

 

His ambiguous answer gave her pause. She stopped dead in her tracks, staring at his back in wonder.

 

He turned to look at her nonchalantly over his shoulder, expectant. His expression was so bored she almost wondered if he really even meant that.

 

There’s no way that the reason she hadn’t been in any trouble was because he was usually always there with her, right?

 

Although she could see why guys would be intimidated to try picking her up if they saw Dai-chan at her side. Especially after tonight, she knew how scary he could be if he so wanted to.

 

No way, right?

 

“Are you trying to tell me I’m a handful like you?” she asked playfully as she jogged up to fall in stride with him again.

 

Daiki chuckled, walking on as well.

 

“Please—you’re a lot more trouble than I am. You just don’t want to admit it.”

 

“Oh, _please_. When have _I_ been in fights?” she parried, stepping forward with a lot of flair.

 

“And whose fault was it that I had to warn those guys so sternly, hm?”

 

They walked on, exchanging their usual playful banter back and forth. Satsuki’s annoyance with him a long forgotten memory, as she held on to his bag-free hand in her own.

**Author's Note:**

> I don’t do subtle very well. ;A; Therefore I’m not sure how well this came out. I just, I don’t know. I’ll leave it here and let you be the judge of it.


End file.
